Deck 7: Understanding Work Teams

Question 1

You are the vice-president of a division of a large, multi-national company that makes electronic equipment for consumers and the military. You have several managers that have created some teams. Also, there are several projects underway and you need to decide what types of teams to use for each situation.
Your company has recently landed a contract to design and manufacture a new state-of-the-art electronic device for the military. This will be a very complex project, requiring many different types of skills. Which of the following types of teams is most suited for the project?

A) virtual
B) problem-solving
C) task-resolution
D) self-managed
E) cross-functional

Answer 1

E

Question 2

Sara has an assertive personality and naturally tends to stand up for her team in conflicts with other teams or departments. She is a strong defender and is fiercely loyal to the other members on her team. Sara is most likely suited for which of the following team roles?

A) producer
B) controller
C) maintainer
D) advocate
E) assessor

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Of the nine key roles on teams, the "promoter" is the group member most likely to_______ .

A) develop original ideas
B) defend and support newly-developed ideas
C) conflict with other team members
D) fight battles with those outside of the team
E) provide structure for the team

Answer 3

defend and support newly-developed ideas

Question 4

Which of the following qualities is not found in work groups?

A) energy
B) synergy
C) enthusiasm
D) security
E) objectives

Question 5

Which of the following statements best serves to weaken the argument that trust contributes to team effectiveness?

A) Teams with the highest trust ratings for their leadership tend to outperform teams with lower leadership trust ratings.
B) The most cooperative teams are those that share the greatest amount of trust.
C) Research shows that trust among team members is directly linked to members' willingness to take risks.
D) Regardless of trust level, most individuals resist exposing vulnerabilities to their co-workers.
E) Team members who trust each other tend to spend less time monitoring each other's behavior.

Question 6

_______teams are an effective way to allow people from diverse areas within an organization to exchange information, develop new ideas and solve problems, and coordinate complex projects.

A) Self-managed
B) Cross-functional
C) Multifaceted
D) Problem-solving
E) Star matrix

Question 7

Which of the following statements best defines a work group?

A) A work group consists of 3 or more people who take on self-supervising responsibilities.
B) The performance of a work group is generally greater than the sum of its inputs from individual members.
C) A work group consists of 3 or more people from across departmental or functional lines.
D) A work group is a group comprised of 10 or more people.
E) A work group interacts primarily to share information, rather than to engage in work that requires joint effort.

Question 8

Team members with good listening, feedback, and conflict resolution skills possess_______ .

A) problem-solving skills
B) decision-making skills
C) cognitive appraisal skills
D) technical expertise
E) interpersonal skills

Question 9

Which of the following is most likely to increase team efficacy?

A) reducing the number of members on a team
B) limiting time spent in training
C) helping the team achieve small successes
D) providing measurable goals
E) ensuring that team goals are challenging

Question 10

Which of the following strategies would managers find least helpful for turning individuals into team players?

A) providing training
B) encouraging mentorship
C) selecting appropriate candidates
D) rewarding cooperative efforts
E) setting goals

Question 11

If an employee is considered "untrainable" as a team member, he or she most likely_______ .

A) will find it difficult to transition to working in teams
B) lacks the technical skills necessary for a team position
C) can be successfully transferred from one team to another
D) will be willing to undergo training in order to learn team skills
E) comes from a culture that upholds collectivist values

Question 12

Which of the following is not one of the nine potential team roles identified for successful teams?

A) promoter
B) organizer
C) maintainer
D) allocator
E) controller

Question 13

Coasting on the group effort is termed _______.

A) incompetence
B) social loafing
C) inconsistency
D) dysfunction
E) half-focus bias

Question 14

You find that in a team situation you prefer to be the one who examines details and is concerned with enforcing rules and regulations. Your role is that of the_______ .

A) linker
B) maintainer
C) resource allocator
D) promoter
E) controller

Question 15

If a team's members have similar mental models, what will they likely do?

A) focus on what needs to be done
B) loaf on others' efforts
C) display low self efficacy
D) become involved in relationship conflict
E) demonstrate high reflexivity

Question 16

Process variables include all of the following except .

A) climate of trust
B) specific goals
C) member commitment to a common purpose
D) team efficacy
E) minimized social loafing

Question 17

Self-managed teams are typically comprised of how many members?

A) 8-12
B) 2-5
C) over 100
D) 5-10
E) 10-15

Question 18

Which is not one of the most common types of teams?

A) interdepartmental
B) cross-functional
C) problem-solving
D) self-managed
E) virtual

Question 19

The most effective teams tend to have _______members.

A) 10 to 20
B) 5 to 15
C) more than 20
D) less than 10
E) 3 to 5

Question 20

The early stages of development of a cross-functional team are time-consuming because _______.

A) most cross-functional team members have already established trust
B) most cross-functional team members are comprised of individuals from similar backgrounds
C) members must learn to work with diversity and complexity
D) members have to learn how to perform new functional tasks
E) members must research the causes of problems which they are assigned to solve

Question 21

You have been assigned to a problem-solving team. You have never met any of the team members before, but you have been given their resumes. It is your job to match the team members to the various roles that are needed for successful completion of your project.
Your team consists of the following members. Iris is a recent college graduate with a degree in mathematics. She likes to keep an eye on the big picture and enjoys coordinating the work of others. Jibril has been with the company for 15 years and has had experience in several areas within the company. He has a reputation for strong leadership and effective follow-through. Bahira is highly motivated and intelligent. She has several advanced degrees and is able to view situations from differing viewpoints. You have decided that you are willing to take on any group role that is handed to you, but you are more comfortable with implementing ideas than with initiating them.
Jibril is best suited to which role?

A) organizer
B) maintainer
C) linker
D) producer
E) adviser

Question 22

In a_______ team the manager's job becomes managing outside the team.

A) self-managed
B) technical
C) management
D) problem-solving
E) reactive

Question 23

Which of the following statements best characterizes the use of work teams?

A) Employees are usually responsible for suggesting that teams be created.
B) Teams are unnecessary if an individual can do the job better.
C) Teams are necessary for encouraging individuals to work independently.
D) In successful companies, teamwork is always preferable to individual work.
E) Within a company, teams perform best if they are structured similarly.

Question 24

You are the manager of a software design firm that develops software projects using teams of specialists. One of your most successful teams has been together for nearly 5 years. In the past, this team has performed effectively, and you have been very satisfied with the team's output. Recently, however, you have noticed a marked decrease in the team's performance. You investigate to determine the problem.
During an interview with one team member, you learn that several members of the team have had conflicts regarding the content of a task to which the team was recently assigned. Are these conflicts likely to be reducing the group's productivity?

A) No, because task-related conflicts usually benefit the performance of a team.
B) No, because conflicts based on personal animosity rarely affect team operations.
C) Yes, because disagreements about tasks usually lessen groupthink.
D) Yes, because interpersonal conflicts always hurt a team's performance.
E) Yes, because task-related conflicts lead to poor team decisions.

Question 25

Only one-third of employees from_______ would likely say their organization has a high level of teamwork?

A) Canada
B) Indonesia
C) the United States
D) Mexico
E) Japan

Question 26

Which of the following helps explain the current popularity of teams? Teams_______ .

A) are easier to manage
B) are very efficient
C) are a way to better utilize employee talents
D) are less expensive
E) promote socialization

Question 27

_______results in a level of performance that is greater than the sum of the individual inputs.

A) Inversion
B) Energy
C) Enthusiasm
D) Synergy
E) Initiative

Question 28

Which of the following types of teams allows for collaboration between team members who are physically dispersed?

A) interactive
B) global
C) real-time
D) virtual
E) local

Question 29

Effective teams have confidence in themselves and believe they can succeed. This confidence is termed _______.

A) social loafing
B) self serving bias
C) social facilitation
D) team efficacy
E) goal congruence

Question 30

Which of the following types of teams would most likely be assembled to improve the efficiency of a company's production process?

A) self-managed
B) problem-solving
C) cross-functional
D) co-evolving
E) virtual

Question 31

You work for an international company that has offices around the world. You have been asked to pull together a global virtual team to handle a specific project. The project is expected to take 3 to 5 years to complete. You are free to include individuals from any of the company's offices, which are located in the United States, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, the UK, Australia, and Japan.
Provided that all of the team members are equally qualified, which of the following teams is likely to be the least challenging to manage?

A) A team comprised primarily of members from the United States, because employees from countries with individualistic values tend to function well in teams.
B) A team comprised of members from both Japan and the UK, because employees from these countries tend to focus on individual accomplishments.
C) A team comprised primarily of members from the US, the UK, and Australia, because employees from these countries usually grow up learning how to function in teams.
D) A team comprised primarily of members from either Saudi Arabia or Japan, because employees from countries with collectivist values tend to adjust easily to team structures.
E) A team comprised of members drawn equally from all of the company's offices, because culturally diverse teams tend to operate with minimal conflict.

Question 32

Exercises that help individuals become team players include workshops in _______ .

A) goal setting
B) event planning
C) negotiation
D) individualism
E) recruiting

Question 33

You have been assigned to a problem-solving team. You have never met any of the team members before, but you have been given their resumes. It is your job to match the team members to the various roles that are needed for successful completion of your project.
Your team consists of the following members. Iris is a recent college graduate with a degree in mathematics. She likes to keep an eye on the big picture and enjoys coordinating the work of others. Jibril has been with the company for 15 years and has had experience in several areas within the company. He has a reputation for strong leadership and effective follow-through. Bahira is highly motivated and intelligent. She has several advanced degrees and is able to view situations from differing viewpoints. You have decided that you are willing to take on any group role that is handed to you, but you are more comfortable with implementing ideas than with initiating them.

-The person best suited for the role of adviser is probably _______.

A) Jibril
B) Iris
C) you
D) Bahira
E) none of the above

Question 34

Which type of conflict is almost always dysfunctional?

A) resource conflict
B) social conflict
C) task conflict
D) efficacy conflict
E) relationship conflict

Question 35

Effective teams require which of the following skills?

A) technical expertise
B) interpersonal skills
C) problem-solving skills
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 36

What is a team called when its members consider and adjust their master plan when necessary?

A) social facilitating
B) reflexive
C) goal congruent
D) social loafing
E) mental models

Question 37

Evidence tends to suggest that performance across teams will be higher if an organization _______.

A) seeds each team with a few people who score high on conscientiousness
B) seeds each team with a few people who score low on conscientiousness
C) forms only teams low in conscientiousness
D) forms only teams high in conscientiousness
E) forms both teams high in conscientious and teams low in conscientiousness

Question 38

You are the vice-president of a division of a large, multi-national company that makes electronic equipment for consumers and the military. You have several managers that have created some teams. Also, there are several projects underway and you need to decide what types of teams to use for each situation.

-Anisa, your director of accounting, has created a team of seven employees from the accounts payable department who meet for three hours a week to discuss ways of improving quality, efficiency and the work environment. This is an example of a _______ team.

A) virtual
B) cross-functional
C) self-managed
D) task-resolution
E) problem-solving

Question 39

Which of the following is not true about virtual teams?

A) Members are more satisfied with the group interaction process.
B) There is limited social context.
C) They are more task-oriented.
D) Members are more focused on production than on process.
E) There is an absence of paraverbal cues.

Question 40

On her work team, Mariam develops detailed tasks lists and work flow charts to help her team members understand the steps involved in each project. She also maintains the project calendar and receives periodic updates from each team member to ensure that projects are progressing on schedule. Which role does Mariam most likely fill on her team?

A) maintainer
B) organizer
C) promoter
D) assessor
E) creator

Question 41

_______teams are made up of employees from about the same hierarchical level.

A) Cross-functional
B) Star matrix
C) Multifaceted
D) Problem-solving
E) Self-managed

Question 42

To succeed in achieving their goals, teams must _______.

A) receive support from management
B) have strong leadership
C) have autonomy
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 43

You are the vice-president of a division of a large, multi-national company that makes electronic equipment for consumers and the military. You have several managers that have created some teams. Also, there are several projects underway and you need to decide what types of teams to use for each situation.

-Jamal, your director of manufacturing, has decided to create a team of eleven employees from quality control. Jamal gives the team members the responsibility of scheduling their own work and evaluating each other's performance. This is an example of a _______team.

A) cross-functional
B) problem-solving
C) virtual
D) self-managed
E) task-resolution

Question 44

You are the plant manager of a manufacturing facility. Your plant has been experiencing a number of problems and you have been directed to solve these issues. One of the problems concerns the low quality of the manufactured product. Many products have failed to pass quality inspection, and your superiors feel that the failure rate is unacceptably high. Another problem concerns the college recruitment process. The current recruitment process has repeatedly brought unqualified candidates to the plant.

-Your management team suggests that the college recruitment process could be improved by creating a cross-functional team to conduct the on-campus interviews. Based on your understanding of team functioning, you reply that this solution is most likely_______ .

A) an appropriate use of teams, because interviewing is a highly complex task
B) an inappropriate use of teams, because interviewing teams rarely have a common purpose
C) an appropriate use of teams, because recruitment is a quality issue
D) an inappropriate use of teams, because team interviews risk breaking confidentiality
E) an inappropriate use of teams, because individual interviews are better conducted by one person

Question 45

To provide teams with adequate resources, a company must supply which of the following?

A) encouragement
B) proper equipment
C) adequate staffing
D) all the above
E) none of the above

Question 46

One stream of research has identified potential team roles that people prefer to play. The "creator" role is one who _______.

A) coordinates and integrates
B) initiates new ideas
C) provides structure
D) manages subordinates
E) champions ideas

Question 47

You have been assigned to a problem-solving team. You have never met any of the team members before, but you have been given their resumes. It is your job to match the team members to the various roles that are needed for successful completion of your project.
Your team consists of the following members. Iris is a recent college graduate with a degree in mathematics. She likes to keep an eye on the big picture and enjoys coordinating the work of others. Jibril has been with the company for 15 years and has had experience in several areas within the company. He has a reputation for strong leadership and effective follow-through. Bahira is highly motivated and intelligent. She has several advanced degrees and is able to view situations from differing viewpoints. You have decided that you are willing to take on any group role that is handed to you, but you are more comfortable with implementing ideas than with initiating them.

-The role that might best suit Iris is that of_______ .

A) maintainer
B) linker
C) creator
D) adviser
E) assessor

Question 48

Which of the following is not one of the key components of effective teams?

A) appropriate team membership
B) well-managed team processes
C) effective work design
D) recognized company identity
E) supportive contextual influences

Question 49

A recent review of the literature suggested that_______ of the Big Five traits was/were especially important for team performance.

A) 5
B) 4
C) 2
D) 3
E) 1

Question 50

Effective teams usually have a common and meaningful purpose. In context, "common" most nearly means_______ .

A) routine
B) shared
C) mundane
D) ordinary
E) plain

Question 51

Which of the following types of teams would most likely empower its team members to make work-related decisions?

A) self-managed
B) technical
C) reactive
D) problem-solving
E) management

Question 52

You are the manager of a software design firm that develops software projects using teams of specialists. One of your most successful teams has been together for nearly 5 years. In the past, this team has performed effectively, and you have been very satisfied with the team's output. Recently, however, you have noticed a marked decrease in the team's performance. You investigate to determine the problem.

-After interviewing all 7 team members, you determine that one of the team members performs routine administrative tasks that are rarely visible to any of the other team members. You suspect that this team member may be loafing off and lagging in his duties. You could most likely improve that team member's output by _______ .

A) encouraging him to work more independently
B) hiring other team members who perform similar tasks
C) giving him additional assignments to complete
D) providing him with administrative training
E) making his work clearly visible to the other team members

Question 53

Leadership is especially important in_______ where different teams need to coordinate their efforts to produce a desired outcome.

A) management teams
B) multi-team systems
C) technical teams
D) problem-solving teams
E) self-managed teams

Question 54

You are the vice-president of a division of a large, multi-national company that makes electronic equipment for consumers and the military. You have several managers that have created some teams. Also, there are several projects underway and you need to decide what types of teams to use for each situation.

-Stella is your director of sales. Since her employees are located in Europe, Asia, and North America, she has decided to use instant messaging to tie her employees together in order to develop a marketing strategy for a new product line. This is an example of a_______ team.

A) self-managed
B) problem-solving
C) task-resolution
D) cross-functional
E) virtual

Question 55

Which type of team meets to discuss ways to improve quality, efficiency, and the work environment?

A) committee
B) cross-functional
C) problem-solving
D) virtual
E) self-managed

Question 56

What is the degree to which members of a work unit share a common demographic attribute and the impact of this attribute on turnover?

A) work demography
B) organizational demography
C) turnover rate
D) department demography
E) group demography

Question 57

What types of people are valuable in teams because they're good at backing up fellow team members and at sensing when that support is truly needed?

A) open people
B) introverted people
C) agreeable people
D) conscientious people
E) extroverted people

Question 58

In addition to evaluating and rewarding employees for their individual contributions, management should consider using which of the following to reinforce team effort and commitment?

A) consistent wages for all team members
B) personalized incentives
C) fixed hourly wages
D) individual performance evaluations
E) profit sharing

Question 59

There are four contextual factors that appear to be most significantly related to team performance. Which of the following is not one of those factors?

A) work autonomy
B) a climate of trust.
C) a performance evaluation and reward system that reflects team contributions
D) adequate resources
E) effective leadership

Question 60

When teams are under acute stress, they are particularly likely to have_______ .

A) high self efficacy
B) high reflexivity
C) wrong mental models
D) resource conflict
E) relationship conflict

Question 61

Individuals on supervisory work teams report higher levels of job satisfaction.

Question 62

The highest performing team members are usually employees who thrive on being rewarded for their personal achievements.

Question 63

Cross-functional teams are very effective for coordinating highly complex projects.

Question 64

A large proportion of people raised on the importance of individual accomplishment can be trained to become team players.

Question 65

Task conflict increases the likelihood of groupthink.

Question 66

Supervisory positions take on decreased importance for a problem-solving work team.

Question 67

Given the option, many employees will select themselves out of team participation.

Question 68

The extensive use of teams creates the potential for an organization to generate greater outputs with no increase in inputs.

Question 69

The role of the "linker" describes the person within the work team who coordinates and integrates the work of team members.

Question 70

In high power distance countries, work teams fare best if leadership roles are flexible and deemphasize hierarchical authority.

Question 71

The most effective teams have between ten and fifteen members.

Question 72

"Social loafing" is most likely to occur within a team whenever one team member's contributions are invisible to the rest of the team.

Question 73

Establishing teams provides an effective means for increasing democratic practices within an organization.

Question 74

Teamwork takes more time and often more resources than individual work.

Question 75

Problem-solving teams generally consist of 5 to 12 hourly employees from the same department.

Question 76

On a team, the role of the "creator" describes the person who analyzes decision options.

Question 77

Individuals on self-managed work teams have lower absenteeism rates than employees in traditional work structures.

Question 78

Work teams produce final results that exceed the sum of individual team member inputs.

Question 79

You are a member of a team of eight individuals from the same department who meet for a few hours each week to discuss ways of improving quality, efficiency, and the work environment. You are most likely a member of a self-managed work team.

Question 80

Teams make most sense to employ when the tasks to be accomplished are independent of one another.